慑服 (shè fú) — to overawe, to intimidate into submission; to b…

Definition

verb

to overaweto intimidate into submissionto be scared into submissionto be cowed

慑服。
Tā de qiáng dà qì shì shè fú le suǒ yǒu rén.
His imposing aura overawed everyone.
，慑服。
Zài qiáng dà de yā lì xià, dí rén zuì zhōng bèi shè fú le.
Under strong pressure, the enemy was finally cowed.
慑服。
Zhè ge zhèng quán de cán kù shǒu duàn shè fú le rén mín.
The brutal methods of this regime intimidated the people into submission.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

慑shèintimidate

慑 expresses intimidation and 服 expresses submission, together meaning to overawe into obeying.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 懾; 慑 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

聶

聶niè懾

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 懾 pairs 心 (heart) with 聶 as a sound part; the simplified 慑 is a later shorthand.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

𠬝

𠬝𠬝服fú

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 服, the part 𠬝 was the original picture for 'to subdue'; the added left part 凡, a tray, later changed shape.